Dorset Couple Rescued From Stream

An elderly couple have been rescued after driving their car off a bridge in Dorset - ending up in a stream.

They had to be rescued from approximately eight inches of cold water shortly before 9pm on Sunday 29 April. The car they were driving veered off of the road and ended up upside down in a stream in West Stafford, near Dorchester.

Crews from Dorchester (x2) and the special water rescue units from Weymouth(x2) attended the scene, alongside paramedics and police.

Incident Commander, Jason Rogers, said:

"The couple obviously lost control of the vehicle as conditions are poor this evening. They travelled over the West Stafford bridge, falling approximately ten feet into the water, with the car ending up upside down. The couple were medically trapped rather than physically trapped but we brought the gentleman out on a spine board and into the care of waiting paramedics. The lady was able to walk to the ambulance crews and both were taken to hospital as a precautionary measure. Luckily, it being an old bridge, there was a hole in it from the past which crews were able to further dig out to bring the man out and through, making it much easier and quicker to get him to our ambulance colleagues. The water was flowing steadily but was pretty cold so time was of the essence to prevent them becoming even colder and going into severe shock. Crews and our partner agencies did a fantastic job in getting there in a short space of time [ten minutes] and getting them out safely."

Although the special water rescue team from Weymouth attended to supportthe rescue operation if required, the rescue was carried out by the local Dorchester crews.